III. Elementary Principles of Composition

9. Make the paragraph the unit of composition:
one paragraph to each topic.

If the subject on which you are writing is of slight extent, or if
you intend to treat it very briefly, there may be no need of
subdividing it into topics. Thus a brief description, a brief summary
of a literary work, a brief account of a single incident, a narrative
merely outlining an action, the setting forth of a single idea, any
one of these is best written in a single paragraph. After the
paragraph has been written, it should be examined to see whether
subdivision will not improve it.

Ordinarily, however, a subject requires subdivision into topics,
each of which should be made the subject of a paragraph. The object
of treating each topic in a paragraph by itself is, of course, to aid
the reader. The beginning of each paragraph is a signal to him that a
new step in the development of the subject has been reached.

The extent of subdivision will vary with the length of the
composition. For example, a short notice of a book or poem might
consist of a single paragraph. One slightly longer might consist of
two paragraphs:

A. Account of the work.

B. Critical discussion.

A report on a poem, written for a class in literature, might
consist of seven paragraphs:

A. Facts of composition and publication.

B. Kind of poem; metrical form.

C. Subject.

D. Treatment of subject.

E. For what chiefly remarkable.

F. Wherein characteristic of the writer.

G. Relationship to other works.

The contents of paragraphs C and D would vary with the poem.
Usually, paragraph C would indicate the actual or imagined
circumstances of the poem (the situation), if these call for
explanation, and would then state the subject and outline its
development. If the poem is a narrative in the third person
throughout, paragraph C need contain no more than a concise summary
of the action. Paragraph D would indicate the leading ideas and show
how they are made prominent, or would indicate what points in the
narrative are chiefly emphasized.

A novel might be discussed under the heads:

A. Setting.

B. Plot.

C. Characters.

D. Purpose.

A historical event might be discussed under the heads:

A. What led up to the event.

B. Account of the event.

C. What the event led up to.

In treating either of these last two subjects, the writer would
probably find it necessary to subdivide one or more of the topics
here given.

As a rule, single sentences should not be written or printed as
paragraphs. An exception may be made of sentences of transition,
indicating the relation between the parts of an exposition or
argument.

In dialogue, each speech, even if only a single word, is a
paragraph by itself; that is, a new paragraph begins with each change
of speaker. The application of this rule, when dialogue and narrative
are combined, is best learned from examples in well-printed works of
fiction.

10. As a rule, begin each paragraph with a topic
sentence; end it in conformity with the beginning.

Again, the object is to aid the reader. The practice here
recommended enables him to discover the purpose of each paragraph as
he begins to read it, and to retain the purpose in mind as he ends
it. For this reason, the most generally useful kind of paragraph,
particularly in exposition and argument, is that in which

the topic sentence comes at or near the
beginning;

the succeeding sentences explain or establish or develop the
statement made in the topic sentence; and

the final sentence either emphasizes the thought of the topic
sentence or states some important consequence.

Ending with a digression, or with an unimportant detail, is
particularly to be avoided.

If the paragraph forms part of a larger composition, its relation
to what precedes, or its function as a part of the whole, may need to
be expressed. This can sometimes be done by a mere word or phrase
(again; therefore; for the same reason) in the topic sentence.
Sometimes, however, it is expedient to precede the topic sentence by
one or more sentences of introduction or transition. If more than one
such sentence is required, it is generally better to set apart the
transitional sentences as a separate paragraph.

According to the writer's purpose, he may, as indicated above,
relate the body of the paragraph to the topic sentence in one or more
of several different ways. He may make the meaning of the topic
sentence clearer by restating it in other forms, by defining its
terms, by denying the converse, by giving illustrations or specific
instances; he may establish it by proofs; or he may develop it by
showing its implications and consequences. In a long paragraph, he
may carry out several of these processes.

1 Now, to be properly
enjoyed, a walking tour should be gone upon alone.

1 Topic sentence.

2 If you go in a company,
or even in pairs, it is no longer a walking tour in anything
but name; it is something else and more in the nature of a
picnic.

2 The meaning made clearer
by denial of the contrary.

3 A walking tour should be
gone upon alone, because freedom is of the essence; because
you should be able to stop and go on, and follow this way or
that, as the freak takes you; and because you must have your
own pace, and neither trot alongside a champion walker, nor
mince in time with a girl.

3 The topic sentence
repeated, in abridged form, and supported by three reasons;
the meaning of the third ("you must have your own pace")
made clearer by denying the converse.

4 And you must be open to
all impressions and let your thoughts take colour from what
you see.

4 A fourth reason, stated
in two forms.

5 You should be as a pipe
for any wind to play upon.

5 The same reason, stated
in still another form.

6 "I cannot see the wit,"
says Hazlitt, "of walking and talking at the same time.

7 When I am in the country,
I wish to vegetate like the country," which is the gist of
all that can be said upon the matter.

6-7 The same reason as
stated by Hazlitt.

8 There should be no cackle
of voices at your elbow, to jar on the meditative silence of
the morning.

8 Repetition, in
paraphrase, of the quotation from Hazlitt.

9 And so long as a man is
reasoning he cannot surrender himself to that fine
intoxication that comes of much motion in the open air, that
begins in a sort of dazzle and sluggishness of the brain,
and ends in a peace that passes
comprehension.Stevenson, Walking Tours.

9 Final statement of the
fourth reason, in language amplified and heightened to form
a strong conclusion.

1 It was chiefly in the
eighteenth century that a very different conception of
history grew up.

1 Topic sentence.

2 Historians then came to
believe that their task was not so much to paint a picture
as to solve a problem; to explain or illustrate the
successive phases of national growth, prosperity, and
adversity.

2 The meaning of the topic
sentence made clearer; the new conception of history
defined.

3 The history of morals, of
industry, of intellect, and of art; the changes that take
place in manners or beliefs; the dominant ideas that
prevailed in successive periods; the rise, fall, and
modification of political constitutions; in a word, all the
conditions of national well-being became the subjects of
their works.

3 The definition
expanded.

4 They sought rather to
write a history of peoples than a history of kings.

4 The definition explained
by contrast.

5 They looked especially in
history for the chain of causes and effects.

5 The definition
supplemented: another element in the new conception of
history.

6 They undertook to study
in the past the physiology of nations, and hoped by applying
the experimental method on a large scale to deduce some
lessons of real value about the conditions on which the
welfare of society mainly depend.Lecky, The
Political Value of History.

6 Conclusion: an important
consequence of the new conception of history.

In narration and description the paragraph sometimes begins with a
concise, comprehensive statement serving to hold together the details
that follow.

The breeze served us admirably.

The campaign opened with a series of reverses.

The next ten or twelve pages were filled with a curious set of
entries.

But this device, if too often used, would become a mannerism. More
commonly the opening sentence simply indicates by its subject with
what the paragraph is to be principally concerned.

At length I thought I might return towards the stockade.

He picked up the heavy lamp from the table and began to
explore.

Another flight of steps, and they emerged on the roof.

The brief paragraphs of animated narrative, however, are often
without even this semblance of a topic sentence. The break between
them serves the purpose of a rhetorical pause, throwing into
prominence some detail of the action.

11. Use the active voice.

The active voice is usually more direct and vigorous than the
passive:

I shall always remember my first visit to Boston.

This is much better than

My first visit to Boston will always be remembered by me.

The latter sentence is less direct, less bold, and less concise.
If the writer tries to make it more concise by omitting "by me,"

My first visit to Boston will always be remembered,

it becomes indefinite: is it the writer, or some person
undisclosed, or the world at large, that will always remember this
visit?

This rule does not, of course, mean that the writer should
entirely discard the passive voice, which is frequently convenient
and sometimes necessary.

The dramatists of the Restoration are little esteemed to-day.

Modern readers have little esteem for the dramatists of the
Restoration.

The first would be the right form in a paragraph on the dramatists
of the Restoration; the second, in a paragraph on the tastes of
modern readers. The need of making a particular word the subject of
the sentence will often, as in these examples, determine which voice
is to be used.

The habitual use of the active voice, however, makes for forcible
writing. This is true not only in narrative principally concerned
with action, but in writing of any kind. Many a tame sentence of
description or exposition can be made lively and emphatic by
substituting a transitive in the active voice for some such
perfunctory expression as there is, or could be
heard.

There were a great number of dead leaves lying on the
ground.

Dead leaves covered the ground.

The sound of the falls could still be heard.

The sound of the falls still reached our ears.

The reason that he left college was that his health
became impaired.

Failing health compelled him to leave college.

It was not long before he was very sorry that he had said
what he had.

He soon repented his words.

As a rule, avoid making one passive depend directly upon
another.

Gold was not allowed to be exported.

It was forbidden to export gold (The export of gold was
prohibited).

He has been proved to have been seen entering the
building.

It has been proved that he was seen to enter the
building.

In both the examples above, before correction, the word properly
related to the second passive is made the subject of the first.

A common fault is to use as the subject of a passive construction
a noun which expresses the entire action, leaving to the verb no
function beyond that of completing the sentence.

A survey of this region was made in 1900.

This region was surveyed in 1900.

Mobilization of the army was rapidly carried out.

The army was rapidly mobilized.

Confirmation of these reports cannot be obtained.

These reports cannot be confirmed.

Compare the sentence, "The export of gold was prohibited," in
which the predicate "was prohibited" expresses something not implied
in "export."

12. Put statements in positive
form.

Make definite assertions. Avoid tame, colorless, hesitating,
non-committal language. Use the word not as a means of denial
or in antithesis, never as a means of evasion.

He was not very often on time.

He usually came late.

He did not think that studying Latin was much use.

He thought the study of Latin useless.

The Taming of the Shrew is rather weak in spots.
Shakespeare does not portray Katharine as a very admirable
character, nor does Bianca remain long in memory as an
important character in Shakespeare's works.

The women in The Taming of the Shrew are
unattractive. Katharine is disagreeable, Bianca
insignificant.

The last example, before correction, is indefinite as well as
negative. The corrected version, consequently, is simply a guess at
the writer's intention.

All three examples show the weakness inherent in the word
not. Consciously or unconsciously, the reader is dissatisfied
with being told only what is not; he wishes to be told what is.
Hence, as a rule, it is better to express a negative in positive
form.

not honest

dishonest

not important

trifling

did not remember

forgot

did not pay any attention to

ignored

did not have much confidence in

distrusted

The antithesis of negative and positive is strong:

Not charity, but simple justice.

Not that I loved Caesar less, but Rome the more.

Negative words other than not are usually strong:

The sun never sets upon the British flag.

13. Omit needless words.

Vigorous writing is concise. A sentence should contain no
unnecessary words, a paragraph no unnecessary sentences, for the same
reason that a drawing should have no unnecessary lines and a machine
no unnecessary parts. This requires not that the writer make all his
sentences short, or that he avoid all detail and treat his subjects
only in outline, but that every word tell.

Many expressions in common use violate this principle:

the question as to whether

whether (the question whether)

there is no doubt but that

no doubt (doubtless)

used for fuel purposes

used for fuel

he is a man who

he

in a hasty manner

hastily

this is a subject which

this subject

His story is a strange one.

His story is strange.

In especial the expression the fact that should be revised
out of every sentence in which it occurs.

As positive statement is more concise than negative, and the
active voice more concise than the passive, many of the examples
given under Rules 11 and 12
illustrate this rule as well.

A common violation of conciseness is the presentation of a single
complex idea, step by step, in a series of sentences which might to
advantage be combined into one.

Macbeth was very ambitious. This led him to wish to
become king of Scotland. The witches told him that this wish
of his would come true. The king of Scotland at this time
was Duncan. Encouraged by his wife, Macbeth murdered Duncan.
He was thus enabled to succeed Duncan as king. (55
words.)

Encouraged by his wife, Macbeth achieved his ambition and
realized the prediction of the witches by murdering Duncan
and becoming king of Scotland in his place. (26 words.)

14. Avoid a succession of loose sentences.

This rule refers especially to loose sentences of a particular
type, those consisting of two co-ordinate clauses, the second
introduced by a conjunction or relative. Although single sentences of
this type may be unexceptionable (see under Rule 4),
a series soon becomes monotonous and tedious.

An unskilful writer will sometimes construct a whole paragraph of
sentences of this kind, using as connectives and, but, and
less frequently, who, which, when, where, and while,
these last in non-restrictive senses (see under Rule 3).

The third concert of the subscription series was given
last evening, and a large audience was in attendance. Mr.
Edward Appleton was the soloist, and the Boston Symphony
Orchestra furnished the instrumental music. The former
showed himself to be an artist of the first rank, while the
latter proved itself fully deserving of its high reputation.
The interest aroused by the series has been very gratifying
to the Committee, and it is planned to give a similar series
annually hereafter. The fourth concert will be given on
Tuesday, May 10, when an equally attractive programme will
be presented.

Apart from its triteness and emptiness, the paragraph above is bad
because of the structure of its sentences, with their mechanical
symmetry and sing-song. Contrast with them the sentences in the
paragraphs quoted under Rule 10, or in any piece of
good English prose, as the preface (Before the Curtain) to Vanity
Fair.

If the writer finds that he has written a series of sentences of
the type described, he should recast enough of them to remove the
monotony, replacing them by simple sentences, by sentences of two
clauses joined by a semicolon, by periodic sentences of two clauses,
by sentences, loose or periodic, of three clauseswhichever best
represent the real relations of the thought.

15. Express co-ordinate ideas in similar form.

This principle, that of parallel construction, requires that
expressions of similar content and function should be outwardly
similar. The likeness of form enables the reader to recognize more
readily the likeness of content and function. Familiar instances from
the Bible are the Ten Commandments, the Beatitudes, and the petitions
of the Lord's Prayer.

The unskilful writer often violates this principle, from a
mistaken belief that he should constantly vary the form of his
expressions. It is true that in repeating a statement in order to
emphasize it he may have need to vary its form. For illustration, see
the paragraph from Stevenson quoted under Rule 10.
But apart from this, he should follow the principle of parallel
construction.

Formerly, science was taught by the textbook method,
while now the laboratory method is employed.

Formerly, science was taught by the textbook method; now
it is taught by the laboratory method.

The left-hand version gives the impression that the writer is
undecided or timid; he seems unable or afraid to choose one form of
expression and hold to it. The right-hand version shows that the
writer has at least made his choice and abided by it.

By this principle, an article or a preposition applying to all the
members of a series must either be used only before the first term or
else be repeated before each term.

The French, the Italians, Spanish, and Portuguese

The French, the Italians, the Spanish, and the
Portuguese

In spring, summer, or in winter

In spring, summer, or winter (In spring, in summer, or in
winter)

Correlative expressions (both, and; not, but; not only, but
also; either, or; first, second, third; and the like) should be
followed by the same grammatical construction. Many violations of
this rule can be corrected by rearranging the sentence.

It was both a long ceremony and very tedious.

The ceremony was both long and tedious.

A time not for words, but action

A time not for words, but for action

Either you must grant his request or incur his ill
will.

You must either grant his request or incur his ill
will.

My objections are, first, the injustice of the measure;
second, that it is unconstitutional.

My objections are, first, that the measure is unjust;
second, that it is unconstitutional.

It may be asked, what if a writer needs to express a very large
number of similar ideas, say twenty? Must he write twenty consecutive
sentences of the same pattern? On closer examination he will probably
find that the difficulty is imaginary, that his twenty ideas can be
classified in groups, and that he need apply the principle only
within each group. Otherwise he had best avoid the difficulty by
putting his statements in the form of a table.

16. Keep related words together.

The position of the words in a sentence is the principal means of
showing their relationship. The writer must therefore, so far as
possible, bring together the words, and groups of words, that are
related in thought, and keep apart those which are not so
related.

The subject of a sentence and the principal verb should not, as a
rule, be separated by a phrase or clause that can be transferred to
the beginning.

Wordsworth, in the fifth book of The Excursion,
gives a minute description of this church.

In the fifth book of The Excursion, Wordsworth
gives a minute description of this church.

Cast iron, when treated in a Bessemer converter, is
changed into steel.

By treatment in a Bessemer converter, cast iron is
changed into steel.

The objection is that the interposed phrase or clause needlessly
interrupts the natural order of the main clause. This objection,
however, does not usually hold when the order is interrupted only by
a relative clause or by an expression in apposition. Nor does it hold
in periodic sentences in which the interruption is a deliberately
used means of creating suspense (see examples under Rule 18).

The relative pronoun should come, as a rule, immediately after its
antecedent.

There was a look in his eye that boded mischief.

In his eye was a look that boded mischief.

He wrote three articles about his adventures in Spain,
which were published in Harper's Magazine.

He published in Harper's Magazine three articles
about his adventures in Spain.

This is a portrait of Benjamin Harrison, grandson of
William Henry Harrison, who became President in 1889.

This is a portrait of Benjamin Harrison, grandson of
William Henry Harrison. He became President in 1889.

If the antecedent consists of a group of words, the relative comes
at the end of the group, unless this would cause ambiguity.

The Superintendent of the Chicago Division, who

A proposal to amend the Sherman Act, which has been
variously judged

A proposal, which has been variously judged, to amend the
Sherman Act

A proposal to amend the much-debated Sherman Act

The grandson of William Henry Harrison, who

William Henry Harrison's grandson, Benjamin Harrison,
who

A noun in apposition may come between antecedent and relative,
because in such a combination no real ambiguity can arise.

The Duke of York, his brother, who was regarded with
hostility by the Whigs

Modifiers should come, if possible next to the word they modify.
If several expressions modify the same word, they should be so
arranged that no wrong relation is suggested.

All the members were not present.

Not all the members were present.

He only found two mistakes.

He found only two mistakes.

Major R. E. Joyce will give a lecture on Tuesday evening
in Bailey Hall, to which the public is invited, on "My
Experiences in Mesopotamia" at eight
P. M.

On Tuesday evening at eight P.
M., Major R. E. Joyce will give in
Bailey Hall a lecture on "My Experiences in Mesopotamia."
The public is invited.

17. In summaries, keep to one tense.

In summarizing the action of a drama, the writer should always use
the present tense. In summarizing a poem, story, or novel, he should
preferably use the present, though he may use the past if he prefers.
If the summary is in the present tense, antecedent action should be
expressed by the perfect; if in the past, by the past perfect.

An unforeseen chance prevents Friar John from delivering
Friar Lawrence's letter to Romeo. Juliet, meanwhile, owing to her
father's arbitrary change of the day set for her wedding, has been
compelled to drink the potion on Tuesday night, with the result
that Balthasar informs Romeo of her supposed death before Friar
Lawrence learns of the nondelivery of the letter.

But whichever tense be used in the summary, a past tense in
indirect discourse or in indirect question remains unchanged.

The Legate inquires who struck the blow.

Apart from the exceptions noted, whichever tense the writer
chooses, he should use throughout. Shifting from one tense to the
other gives the appearance of uncertainty and irresolution (compare
Rule 15).

In presenting the statements or the thought of some one else, as
in summarizing an essay or reporting a speech, the writer should
avoid intercalating such expressions as "he said," "he stated," "the
speaker added," "the speaker then went on to say," "the author also
thinks," or the like. He should indicate clearly at the outset, once
for all, that what follows is summary, and then waste no words in
repeating the notification.

In notebooks, in newspapers, in handbooks of literature, summaries
of one kind or another may be indispensable, and for children in
primary schools it is a useful exercise to retell a story in their
own words. But in the criticism or interpretation of literature the
writer should be careful to avoid dropping into summary. He may find
it necessary to devote one or two sentences to indicating the
subject, or the opening situation, of the work he is discussing; he
may cite numerous details to illustrate its qualities. But he should
aim to write an orderly discussion supported by evidence, not a
summary with occasional comment. Similarly, if the scope of his
discussion includes a number of works, he will as a rule do better
not to take them up singly in chronological order, but to aim from
the beginning at establishing general conclusions.

18. Place the emphatic words of a sentence at the end.

The proper place for the word, or group of words, which the writer
desires to make most prominent is usually the end of the
sentence.

Humanity has hardly advanced in fortitude since that
time, though it has advanced in many other ways.

Humanity, since that time, has advanced in many other
ways, but it has hardly advanced in fortitude.

This steel is principally used for making razors, because
of its hardness.

Because of its hardness, this steel is principally used
in making razors.

The word or group of words entitled to this position of prominence
is usually the logical predicate, that is, the new element in
the sentence, as it is in the second example.

The effectiveness of the periodic sentence arises from the
prominence which it gives to the main statement.

Four centuries ago, Christopher Columbus, one of the
Italian mariners whom the decline of their own republics had put
at the service of the world and of adventure, seeking for Spain a
westward passage to the Indies as a set-off against the
achievements of Portuguese discoverers, lighted on America.

With these hopes and in this belief I would urge you, laying
aside all hindrance, thrusting away all private aims, to devote
yourselves unswervingly and unflinchingly to the vigorous and
successful prosecution of this war.

The other prominent position in the sentence is the beginning. Any
element in the sentence, other than the subject, becomes emphatic
when placed first.

Deceit or treachery he could never forgive.

So vast and rude, fretted by the action of nearly three
thousand years, the fragments of this architecture may often seem,
at first sight, like works of nature.

A subject coming first in its sentence may be emphatic, but hardly
by its position alone. In the sentence,

Great kings worshipped at his shrine,

the emphasis upon kings arises largely from its meaning and
from the context. To receive special emphasis, the subject of a
sentence must take the position of the predicate.

Through the middle of the valley flowed a winding stream.

The principle that the proper place for what is to be made most
prominent is the end applies equally to the words of a sentence, to
the sentences of a paragraph, and to the paragraphs of a
composition.